November 5, 2007

The Carlton Avenue Bridge closure: from nine months to two years (and why?)

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder attempts to read the tea leaves, after getting his hands on an Atlantic Yards memo/notice that seems to further confuse the timetable for the project:

It's another confusing element of the not-terribly-credible Atlantic Yards timetable. The Carlton Avenue Bridge, according to the construction schedule (excerpt at right) that was part of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) approved by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), was supposed to close on 11/1/06 for nine months.

We knew that the project was way behind schedule, but we didn't know that the bridge, over the MTA's Vanderbilt Yard between Pacific Street and Atlantic Avenue, now would be closed for two years. (Why does it need work? According to Chapter 12 of the FEIS, "Carlton Avenue would be widened and converted to two-way operation between Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street.")

The precise source of the document appears to be a mystery:

Correction: That information came as part of a document (excerpt above; full document at bottom) regarding a 10/15/07 planning meeting hosted by the ESDC. (I was sent the document via a Community Board member. While I initially believed the document was prepared by the ESDC, the agency tells me it was not their document. It may have simply been produced by the community board, summarizing the meeting; I am waiting for an update from the ESDC as to the accuracy of the document.)

NoLandGrab: Could the ESDC's Atlantic Yards Ombudsperson shed light on the source? Unfortunately, the identity of the Ombudsperson is still a mystery, too.